The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
The handling of items such as cartons, parcels, bundles, magazines, polybags, etc. often involves conveying the items in a bulk stream while stacked one upon the other. In order for the items to be properly handled, e.g., to redirect magazines to their intended destination, it may be necessary to first unstack the items. A belt conveyor can be arranged at a relatively steep angle to help unstack articles as they are being conveyed. The relatively steep angle can be at a downward angle (i.e., declined) or at an upward angle (i.e., inclined). In some instances, both a declined conveyor section and an inclined conveyor section can be used together in sequence.
As the articles are conveyed along the angled conveyor, upper articles that are stacked on lower articles tend to slide off. In addition, the angled conveyor can be made up of multiple conveyor belt segments, where each subsequent downstream belt can move at an increased belt travel speed to provide belt space for the upper articles as they slide off the lower articles. U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,154 to Ydoate, et al. discloses one exemplary unstacking belt conveyor, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.